Nursing bottle



Dec. 8, 1942- .1. H. B OXLEY NURSING BOTTLE Original Filed April 4,- 1942 INVENTOR Jase o1} fioacle y.

ATTORNEY "Patented Dec. 8, 1942 UNITED- STATES PATENTFOFFICE msl'it'l fiflm Original application April 4, 1942, Serial No. 437,617. Divided and this application July 18, 1942, Serial No. 451,480

' 3 Claims. (01. 215-11) My invention described in this application has for its objects the production of a bottle which may be cheaply made and which shall be free from small openings and from small fillets and angles which make sterilization difficult, and the production of easily sterilizable means for controlling the inflow of air to the bottle through the venting hole in the latter. A further object of my invention is to produce a vented nursing bottle with controlling closure so placed that the bottle may be held, when in use, by the nurse by one hand, while the controlling closure may be manipulated by digits of the same hand, leaving the other hand free for administering to the infant in other ways; and so that upon the controlling clqsure being released by the said digits it will again automatically close the vent and prevent leakage.

In the following description of my invention I shall for the sake of brevity refer to the controlling closure as the cap.

In the drawing:

Figure I shows in elevation and in part section my vented nursing bottle with cap in place;

Figure II shows a horizontal section through the central plane of the cap shown in Figure I;

Figure In is a plan of the cap in reverse, looking into the cap from its open end;

Figure IV is a cross-section of the boss and cap shown in Fig. I; t

Figure V is a vertical section taken on line cd in Figure IV;

Figure VI is a vertical section taken on line f in Figure IV;

Figure VII is a horizontal section taken on line g--h in Figures I and V showing one way in which the cap may be manipulated to admit air into the vent-hole through the annular boss.

In Figure I the numeral I indicates the nursing bottle, in much the same position .as it would be held by the nurse at the beginning of the feeding operation. On the side of this bottle, and at about flnger-length from its base, there is formed an annular boss 28 through which passes a large vent-hole 4, large enough for the easy passage of hole 4. Obviously, as liquid is drawn from the bottle through the neck 8 by the nipple (not shown) a partial vacuum will be formed beneath the boss 28 and vent-hole 4. This partial vacuum causes the outside air to collapse the nipple and to impede the flow of liquid from the bottle, which it is well known, leads to infant disorders and troubles. The objects of this invention are to reduce this partial vacuum without introducing any unsanitary means; to so arrange the means employed that the bottle may be held and the vent opened and closed by one and the same hand, leaving the other hand free to administer in other ways to the infant; and so that when the vacuum is sufliciently supplied and reduced the vent shall be closed to any leakage by merely releasing the vent closure.

The hollow boss 28 is placed at a distance of about a flngers length from the base of the bottle, so that it may be conveniently reached by the thumb and finger of the hand which holds the bottle, as shown in Figure VII. The boss 28 is closed by the rubber cap 21.

In my application for patent Serial Number 437,617, flied April 4, 1942, of which this application is a division, I have described a nursing bottle provided with a vented boss having one or more flutes on its outer surface extending part-way of the length of the boss from its mouth, the vent in which boss is closed by means of a flexible cap extending down the sides of the boss and of greater length than and covering the flutes.

In this application I describe a nursing bottle with boss 28 having an even outside surface without flutes, the said flutes being transferred to the inside of the cap by forming a vertically disposed rib, or a plurality of such ribs, on the inside of the cap, and extending from the crown of the cap towards but not to its lower edge. This is shown in Figures I to VII inclusive. For simplicity in manufacture I prefer to make the cap of thin elastic material with integral rib or ribs of the same material; though I do not confine myself to the use of an elastic material throughout the cap, since it would be effective with a flexible body and with an elastic free edge for gripping the surface of the boss. Y

In Figure I the cap 21 is shown assembled on the boss 28. In Figure II is shown a cross-section of the cap 21, in which 30 is a head which projects inwardly as at 32 to grip the surface of the boss 28. This bead is located at what I have mentioned as the free and gripping edge of the cap, which edge, whether with or without bead,

cleaning brushes. A cap 21 controls the ventis to be of elastic material. The bead may also project outwardly if desired, as shown at 34. From the bead 32 or from a point above it there rise to the 'crown of the cap one or more ribs 38,

whose function it is to form an air passage to the vent-hole 38 (Figures V and VII) by preventing the thin elastic body 40 of the cap from closing against the sides of the boss 28; actually forming flutes 42 for the passage of air. A reversed plan of this cap is shown in Figure III. Figure IV shows a cross-section of the cap, in which 28 is the boss, 32'the inwardly projecting bead, .36 the ribs formed inside and integral with the flexiblelwall 40 of the cap, forming flutes 42. In this same Figure IV the numeral 38 indicates the inlet to the vent-hole 4 shown in Fig. I.

Figure V is a vertical section on line c--d in Figure IV. Figure VI is a vertical section on line e) in Figure IV, which is through the ribs 36.

In Figure VII is shown a way of lifting the internal bead 32 of the skirt or free edge of the cap from the surface of the boss 23 to admit air to the internal air passage formed between the rib and wall and surface of the boss. shown clearly at 46.

I claim:

1. A nursing bottle of the character described having a vent-hole in the side thereof, an annular boss formed around the vent-hole and projecting outwardly from the body of the bottle, the said boss and vent-hole being spaced at fingerlength from the base of the bottle; a flexible cap to close the opening through the boss, the said cap having an elastic free edge adapted to grip the outside of the said boss; and means formed This is integral with and inside the cap between its elastic free edge and its crown to hold the side wall of the cap adjacent said means away from the surface of the boss to form a channel-for the passageof air to the vent-hole when the elastic free edge of the cap is moved from the surface of the boss adjacent said means.

2. A nursing bottle of the character described having a vent-hole in the side thereof, an annular boss formed around the vent-hole and proj ecting outwardly from the body of the bottle, the said boss and vent-hole being spaced at fingerlength from the base of the bottle; a flexible cap to close the opening through the boss and having an elastic free edge adapted to grip the outside of the said boss; and having one or more ribs formed integrally with and inside the body of the cap and extending from near the elastic free edge of the cap towards its crown to hold the wall of the cap from. the surface of the annular boss to form a channel to the said vent-hole by which air may flow into the bottle when the gripping edge of the cap is lifted from the surface of the annular boss adjacent the internal rib.

3. A sealing cap for bottles comprising a crown and wall portion of thin elastic material, the lower portion or free edge of the wall being adapted to grip the neck of the bottle; an internal rib integral with'the body of the cap and ex-' tending from the upper portion to but not into the free edge portion, and adapted to hold the adjacent wall of the cap away from the neck of the bottle to form a channel for air.

JOSEPH HARRY BOXLEY. 

